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Maratha Ditch
The Maratha Ditch was a 3-mile long deep entrenchment constructed by the English East India Company around Fort William in Calcutta. It was built to protect the surrounding villages and forts from the ruthless Maratha Bargi raiders. The ditch marked the outer limits of Calcutta city in the nineteenth century. History During the Maratha invasions of Bengal, the mercenaries employed by the Marathas of Nagpur called Bargis devastated the countryside thoroughly, causing huge economic losses for Bengal. In 1742, the president of the East India Company in Bengal petitioned the ''nawab'' Alivardi Khan to create an entrenchment intented to circle the landward sides of Calcutta. This request was immediately granted by Alivardi Khan, and in 1743 the Indians and Europeans co-operated to excavate a 3-mile long ditch north of Fort William, which came to be known as the Maratha Ditch. However, the threat of Maratha invasions ceased before the ditch could be completed and it was left unfi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub of Eastern India and the main port of communication for North-East India. According to the 2011 Indian census, Kolkata is the seventh-most populous city in India, with a population of 45 lakh (4.5 million) residents within the city limits, and a population of over 1.41 crore (14.1 million) residents in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area. It is the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In 2021, the Kolkata metropolitan area crossed 1.5 crore (15 million) registered voters. The Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. Kolkata is regarded as the cultural capital of India. Kolkata is the second largest Bengali-speaking city after Dhaka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commercial, and financial hub of East India, Eastern India and the main port of communication for North-East India. According to the 2011 Indian census, Kolkata is the List of cities in India by population, seventh-most populous city in India, with a population of 45 lakh (4.5 million) residents within the city limits, and a population of over 1.41 crore (14.1 million) residents in the Kolkata metropolitan area, Kolkata Metropolitan Area. It is the List of metropolitan areas in India, third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In 2021, the Kolkata metropolitan area crossed 1.5 crore (15 million) registered voters. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AJC Bose Road & APC Road
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road (earlier known as Lower Circular Road) and its continuation northwards called Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road (earlier known as Upper Circular Road), are together the longest and the most important north-south thoroughfare in Kolkata, India. History The road came upon the stretch that formed the Maratha Ditch that was dug in 1742 to protect the City from the Bargi invasions. In 1799 the ditch was filled up and the current outline of the road built. Until the 1870s, the Circular Road was considered the de facto eastern boundary of the City of Calcutta as the suburbs to its east, i.e. Manicktala, Rajabazar, Narikeldanga, Ultadanga, and Beliaghata were still semi-urban semi-rural villages. Legacy Named after the renowned chemist Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy and the renowned physicist and botanist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose. Stretch and description APC Road and AJC Bose Road taken together is the longest road in Kolkata. APC Road emerge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequent Maratha raids under Raghuji Bhonsle, culminating in the surrender of the province of Orissa in a peace settlement in 1751. He also faced separatist rebellions in Bihar as well as a revolt from his grandson Siraj ud-Daulah, though these were suppressed. Alivardi spent the latter part of his reign rebuilding Bengal. He was a patron of the arts and resumed the policies of Murshid Quli Khan. He maintained a politically neutral stance with the European powers in the subcontinent and prevented any infighting amongst them in his dominions. He was succeeded by Siraj ud-Daulah in 1756. Early life Born in one of the cities of the Deccan in 1676, he was originally given the name Mirza Muhammad Ali. His father Mirza Muhammad Madani, who was of either Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predominantly covering present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Geographically, it consists of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, the largest river delta in the world and a section of the Himalayas up to Nepal and Bhutan. Dense woodlands, including hilly rainforests, cover Bengal's northern and eastern areas, while an elevated forested plateau covers its central area; the highest point is at Sandakphu. In the littoral southwest are the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. The region has a monsoon climate, which the Bengali calendar divides into six seasons. Bengal, then known as Gangaridai, was a leading power in ancient South Asia, with extensive trade networks forming connections to as far away as Roman Egypt. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bengal Subah
The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Bengal) encompassing much of the Bengal region, which includes modern Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, Indian state of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odissa between the 16th and 18th centuries. The state was established following the dissolution of the Bengal Sultanate, a major trading nation in the world, when the region was absorbed into one of the gunpowder empires. Bengal was the wealthiest region in the Indian subcontinent, due to their thriving merchants, Seth's, Bankers and traders and its proto-industrial economy showed signs of driving an Industrial revolution. Bengal Subah has been variously described the "Paradise of Nations" and the "Golden Age of Bengal", due to its inhabitants' living standards and real wages, which were a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagpur Kingdom
The Kingdom of Nagpur was an Indian kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. It came under the rule of the Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century and became part of the Maratha Empire. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the state. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, it became a princely state of the British Empire in 1818, and was annexed to British India in 1853 becoming Nagpur Province. History Gond kingdom The historical record of the Nagpur kingdom begins in the early 18th century, when it formed part of the Gond Kingdom of Deogarh. Bakht Buland Shah, the ruler of Deogharh, visited Delhi and afterwards was determined to encourage the development of his own kingdom. To this end he invited Hindu and Muslim artisans and cultivators to settle in the plains country, and founded the city of Nagpur. His successor, Chand Sultan, continued the development of the country, and moved his capital to Nagpur. After the death of Chand Sultan, the Bhonsles took over the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bargi
Bargis were a light cavalry mercenary group of Maratha Empire's who indulged in large scale plundering of the countryside of western part of Bengal for about ten years (1741–1751) during the Maratha invasions of Bengal. Maratha invasions took place almost as an annual event for 10 years. Etymology According to historians the term ''Bargi'' comes from the Hindustani word ''bargi'', which described cavalry whose equipment and horses were provided by the government. The ''bargi'' were distinct from the ''shiledars'', who owned their equipment and horses. Bargi are also known as Jogi or Gosain in Eastern Bundelkhand region. History Alivardi Khan became Nawab of Bengal in April 1740 by defeating and killing Sarfaraz Khan. His seizure of power was challenged by Sarfaraz Khan's brother-in-law Rustam Jung, who enlisted the backing of Raghoji I Bhonsle, the Maratha ruler of Nagpur. Historians writes that in the ensuing campaign, the Marathas "discovered the Bengal's rich countrys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort William, India
Fort William is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta (Kolkata). It was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, the major distributary of the River Ganges. One of Kolkata's most enduring Raj-era edifices, it extends over an area of 70.9 hectares. The fort was named after King William III. In front of the Fort is the Maidan, the largest park in the country. An internal guard room became the Black Hole of Calcutta. Today it is the Headquarters of Eastern Command of the Indian Army. History There are two Fort Williams. The original fort was built in the year 1696 by the British East India Company under the orders of Sir John Goldsborough which took a decade to complete. The permission was granted by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Sir Charles Eyre started construction near the bank of the Hooghly River with the South-East Bastion and the adjacent walls. It was named after King William III in 1700. John Bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. The area's early history featured a succession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia), and later with East Asia. The company seized control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. At its peak, the company was the largest corporation in the world. The EIC had its own armed forces in the form of the company's three Presidency armies, totalling about 260,000 soldiers, twice the size of the British army at the time. The operations of the company had a profound effect on the global balance of trade, almost single-handedly reversing the trend of eastward drain of Western bullion, seen since Roman times. Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies", the company rose to account for half of the world's trade duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maratha Invasions Of Bengal
The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1741-1751), also known as the Maratha expeditions in Bengal, refers to the frequent invasions by the Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa), after their successful campaign in the Carnatic region at the Battle of Trichinopoly. The leader of the expedition was Maratha Maharaja Raghoji Bhonsle of Nagpur. The Marathas invaded Bengal five times from August 1741 to May 1751 which caused widespread economic losses in the Bengal Subah. During their occupation, the Bargi mercenaries of the Marathas are said to have perpetrated massacres against the local population. According to estimation of Chief of Dutch Factory Jan Kerssebom's memoirs perhaps close to 400,000 Hindu people in western Bengal and Bihar were killed. Contemporary accounts of the invasions report mass gang rape against women and children, and mutilation of victims by the Marathas which included cutting off their hands and noses. According to the Bengal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
